i am a very new beginner in the gardening scene. i am starting to see the end of the light now that most of my large and overgrown garden is rid of weeds. but now i have no idea what to do next. i live in israel and the inimal gardening experience that i have was in canand. the envirinments are so different!! how do i know what kind of garden i should create and what would thirve and what will die. i need help and support on this case. we are now in the dry season adn wilm probably not see any rain until around octber. the soil sems rich undertneath a thin layer of dry loose soil. it can get quite windy here so i need soemthing a little more hardy. i would also like to grow herbs. thanks in advance for you advice
hinda

Hi Hinda,

I know you have been busy.

I would start with succulents. Here is a link to one that I grow as a house plant.

Dudleya gnoma

I would look up runoff farming to get an idea of how you need to work with different elevations inorder to effectively utilize what rain water you do get in your garden area.

There are suppose to be 6 different growing zones in Israel so you need to identify which one you are in so that you can tell which plants are hardy in your area.

I would also start by developing your rain water catch system before starting to plant since it will be so necessary to your plants.

Next would probably be to get a pH testing kit so that you can find out how acidic/alkaline your soil is. That way if you need soil ammendments you can do that now before anything is planted.

Then observe the garden so that you know how much shade and if it is morning or afternoon shade that your garden gets.

For your online search I might try Mediterranean Subtropical and Tropical Plants.

That sure is going to be different from Canada.

You might want to look through this website. It list bunches of plants that might be of interest to you.

Plants

Did I mention that I love the moss roses (portulaca). It is a succulent.